The Brighter Side
by Hipster Blood Ritual
Summary: Sequel to Finding Hope. Rose and the Doctor deal with the aftermath of Jimmy's attack. Rated T for possible language and definite thematic elements. Please enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N  
>Someone completely epic gave me the idea to continue on with Finding Hope. So here is the sort of sequel.<strong>

**I say sort of, because of two main reasons. One, it might not be as good as FH, and in that case, I too, will not consider it to be a sequel. Sequels should be better. And two, I tried my very hardest to make Finding Hope at least somewhat canon. This will NOT be. At all. Whatsoever.**

**So, make of it what you will.**

**Enjoy!**

**Thanks to UnlimitedDreamerForGood for giving me this amazing idea! It was all thanks to you!  
><strong>_

It was the best feeling in the world, waking up next to Rose.

Weellll, not the BEST feeling, but very close.

Sleeping in general was also rather nice.

The Doctor was positive Rose would agree. Ever since Jimmy had been dealt with. Even now, several months later, the name filled him with anger.

Jimmy taken so much from Rose. Granted, the Doctor had fixed most of everything, but still. You were only a child once.

He kept thinking these depressing thoughts every morning. He had to find something to distract him. And with Rose still asleep, there was nothing distracting enough.

He settled for carefully grabbing Rose's hand. And maybe snuggling up against her. And then he forgot what he was thinking, because right when he'd gotten comfortable, Rose pulled away from him.

He sat up, disoriented. "Rose? What did I-"

She was running into the bathroom. And being violently sick.

Oh. He settled back down on the bed, running his hand through his hair. Oh no. It was probably an alien disease she'd contracted. He hoped it wasn't contagious, as he couldn't help her if he was sick, and the amount of kissing they'd done recently was a lot. And certainly not good if she was sick.

When she came out of the bathroom, he was at her side in a second. "Are you okay?"

She looked up at him. "I think so. I dunno what happened."

"Are you sure?" He pressed. "You don't feel feverish or cold?"

She smiled then. "It was probably just food poisoning. I'm really okay."

He still looked suspicious. "Whatever you say."

He'd have to get her scanned. If they caught the virus early, it'd be easier to kill.

She ate a big breakfast, so it seemed okay. He still had the TARDIS keep track of her, and there was nothing seemed to be wrong in the way of alien viruses.

They spent the day at a beach with blue sand and purple water. She looked amazing in the little pink bikini, so when she kissed him on the beach, he really couldn't be blamed for scooping her up and back on the TARDIS; back to his bed.

Afterwards, he held her close and told her exactly how much she meant to him. Just like every time.

They fell asleep like that, in each other's arms.

Thus, the Doctor was rudely awakened the next morning when Rose tore off to the bathroom yet again.

He sat up, worry once again worming it's way through his mind. When she emerged, holding a damp cloth to her face, he once again rushed over to her.

"I don't-"

She held a finger to his lips. "Don't get paranoid."

But even she was worried now. What was going on? There was a little fear in the back of her mind that reared its head up. What did morning sickness mean to lowly humans?

It could mean something terrifying. Something so beyond the realm of possibilities, that she'd never considered it.

She could be pregnant.


	2. Chapter 2

"Doctor?" Rose asked as she handed him his tea. "Do you mind if we go to London for a bit?"

He mock groaned. "Why?"

She settled into his lap. "I want to see mum."

"Does this have anything to do with how you've been feeling the past few days?" The Doctor asked, concerned.

"Not exactly." Rose cringed at the lie. "But it'd just be a day or two, I promise. You can spend the whole time on the couch."

"Well, I suppose." The Doctor rolled his eyes. As if he could refuse Rose anything. "Do you want to go right now?"

"In a bit." Rose settled herself against him. "I'm comfortable right now."

He smiled and wrapped his arms around her. "Good. Me too."

The TARDIS materialized in the lot outside Jackie's flat. Rose dashed up the stairs, eager to see her mum.

The Doctor followed more slowly, but still mounting the stairs two at a time.

Jackie answered the door, and with a shriek, threw herself at them.

"I was just about to go out." Jackie told them, after she'd hugged and kissed them both to an inch of their lives. "But I can change the plans..."

Rose patted her arm. "No way. Don't change your plans. We'll be here for a bit anyway. We won't disappear."

Jackie shook her finger at the Doctor. "You'd better not!"

He'd already assumed his position on the couch. "I'm not going anywhere!" he protested.

"Good." Jackie hugged Rose one last time before disappearing out the door.

The Doctor heard Rose go into the kitchen.

"Bugger." He heard her muffled voice. Then louder: "We're out of anything to eat. I'm going to go grab something."

He didn't really want her leaving. Not after last time they'd been here. "We've got food on the TARDIS."

Her face appeared in the kitchen door. "Yeah, but I want some chips too."

He grinned at her. "Okay. Do you want me to come?" He moved to get off the couch.

A look close to panic shot across her face for a millisecond, before she smiled again. "I'll be fine. I'll have my phone on me the whole time."

He settled on the couch again. "If you say so. Hurry back."

"Of course!" The door shut.

He turned his attention back to the TV. Of course, he wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything until she came back through the door, he realized ruefully.

Thirty four minutes and forty seven seconds later, Rose walked back in, carrying a load of shopping bags. She set them down in the kitchen, before disappearing into the bathroom.

His mind finally at ease, now that the whereabouts of Rose were known, the Doctor relaxed again.

In the bathroom, Rose stared at the little white box. It felt like her entire life was at stake here.

Which, she realized, as she slowly opened the box, it was.

Because if she was actually pregnant, it would be the end of her life as she knew it. The human mother of a little Time Lord.

And the contents of this little box held the answer to that future.

It wasn't exactly fair, she contemplated, as her slightly shaking hand held the results up to the light. And she didn't want that future.

She waited.

The little blue plus sign reflected the light for a second, before it clattered to the floor.

Rose sank onto the edge of the bathtub. This was the beginning of the end.

The Doctor heard the clatter from the bathroom. He sat up. "Rose?"

No answer. Was she okay? He got up to knock on the bathroom door. "Rose? Are you okay?"

No answer. Growing increasingly more worried, he opened the door.

Rose was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, head in hands.

He walked across the small room. "Rose?" His shoe crunched something.

He looked down and picked the thing up. It was a pregnancy test.

He had just enough time to see the little plus sign before Rose snatched it out of his hands.

Oh.

Oh no.

"Rose?" 


	3. Chapter 3

She clung to him then, crying and crying.

He held her, trying to make sense of everything. Rose was pregnant.

By him? It was a slim possibility. But doubtful. He knew he couldn't reproduce unless he explicitly wanted to.

But really, who else could it be? It wasn't like Rose could have gone off and shagged someone else, especially not over the past few months, when they'd been all over each other.

It had to be him. There was no other explanation.

"Rose."

She cried harder. "I'm sorry!"

"What?" Why did she need to be sorry? "If anyone has to be sorry, it's me." He was so stupid.

She looked up at him then, wiping her eyes. "Do you actually WANT this?"

Did he?

Children.

The word was domestic, glaringly so. It almost made him cringe.

Or it would have.

But this was Rose. And somehow it worked.

It worked so well that his mind conjured up images before he could stop it.

Images of a little Time baby, with blonde hair and an adorable smile, going on adventures with him and Rose.

He did actually want it. He wanted it a lot. But his opinion didn't exactly matter in this situation.

"That depends." He answered. "Do you want this?"

She cried harder. "I don't know!"

But the answer was no. She didn't. She wasn't ready for this step. She wanted to have the decision for when this would happen.

"What are you afraid of?" His question was simple, distinct.

She pulled away from him. "Not having time. Together. With you." She hated lying. But the hope on his face was terrifying.

His face grew serious again. "Rose. You need to tell me the truth. Do you want this?"

More tears fell down her face as she shook her head.

The Doctor's heart sank.

The tears fell harder as she saw the look of disappointment on his face. She couldn't bear it if he was unhappy. Couldn't bear it at all. Maybe she _could_ rethink this. "Wait."

He waited.

She took a breath. "Just wait." It felt good to say. Wait. It was like a pause button, allowing her to breathe, and gather her thoughts back together.

She carefully wiped the tears from her face. "Can you let me just think?"

"Okay." He gently let her free of his arms and got halfway back to the couch, when a single thought stopped him in his tracks.

Was she going to keep the baby because it made him happy?

She would ruin her life and her dreams for the future, because it would make him happy?

That whole sentence sounded decidedly wrong. Even in HIS head.

He whirled around. "Rose!"

She was already out of the bathroom. "Listen, Doctor?"

He paused. "Yeah?"

"Can we just run a couple tests on the TARDIS? Y'know, to see if the pregnancy test was right and all?"

She was going to keep it. His heart sank. "Listen, Rose..."

She knew he'd have worked it all out, but really. His entire race had disappeared. If she was going to have the child of the last of the Time Lords, that, at least, was something special.

Almost good enough to ruin her life with?

Seeing the look of hope on the Doctor's face when he'd found out had answered that question.

And who was she to refuse the Doctor something he wanted, when he'd given her the universe and all of time and space?

And his love.

So, yes, she was going to keep the baby. To hell with her visions of a perfect future, with just her and the Doctor. They'd have a little Time Tot to take care of. Who'd be adorable just like the Doctor and smart just like the Doctor and maybe even as brave as the Doctor.

A happy family. That's what they'd be. Together.

**A/N  
>Yikes. This was a short chapter until I rewrote it.<strong>

**I feel like there are tons of mistakes in this one. *****paranoid***

**I hate mistakes.**


	4. Chapter 4

"Just stand still." The Doctor instructed Rose. "It should only take a second."

Rose stared up at the vaulted celing of the TARDIS as a green light swept over her body.

The Doctor watched the results carefully. She was indeed pregnant, but that was no surprise. Apparently it was too early to tell anything about the baby.

But what was strange was the date she'd gotten pregnant.

The TARDIS could tell exactly when, and currently it was telling him that she'd gotten pregnant almost exactly three months ago.

Which was strange because he and Rose had only been like THAT for a little over two months.

(Not that he was, you know, keeping track. Not at all.)

So what was the explanation?

"Doctor?" Rose interrupted his thought process. " Can I see now?"

"Yeah." He ran his hand through his hair. He had to THINK!

"What's going on?" Rose looked at him. She could tell when things were bothering him.

"It's the date." The Doctor pointed to the anomaly.

"What about it?"

"It's too early."

Her eyebrows raised in minor understanding, Rose tried to make sense of it. "So you're saying it's too early for you to be the dad?"

He nodded. What was wrong with his brain?

"But who else could it be?" Rose asked worriedly.

"No one." The Doctor replied. "Unless you've gone off secretly snagging your boyfriend in the closet, there's no other explanation."

She elbowed him in the stomach. "You're the secret boyfriend. And don't even say something like that. I would never willingly go off and-"

Her eyes widened and she gasped.

The Doctor grabbed her shoulders. "Rose?"

She took his arms, as if they were an anchor. "I would never WILLINGLY go off and shag someone else." She almost whispered.

"Of course not." The Doctor frowned. "What's the matter?"

"Last time we were in London." Rose pressed. "Don't tell me you've forgotten."

"Of course not." The Doctor said again. "That was when I rescued you from-"

He finally understood.

Damn his thick head!

Why couldn't he just THINK of these things?

"-Jimmy." He finished.

Her knees buckled.

He could still hold her up, despite the emotions welling up behind his façade. He carefully led her to the console chair, where the both of them sat down.

He took her hand then, squeezing it tightly.

She turned to him, eyes full of panic. "What am I going to do?"

He reached out and drew her into his lap.

She returned his hug, and they clung to eachother. Tears began crawling down her face again.

"What am I going to do?"

He didn't know that. But he did know that whatever her choice was, he was going to stand by her decision. And he wasn't going to leave her.

Unless, of course, she wanted him to.

Rose's sobs grew slightly more audible as full on panic set in.

She clung to him, tighter than ever, as if he was the sole thing keeping her from losing her grip on everything.

And as he clung to Rose, he let out some of the emotions he was trying to hide.

And he cried.

He tried to tell himself he was crying for Rose, because she was scared and she didn't know what to do.

But that wasn't it.

He was crying, not for Rose, but because he wanted the child to be his.

**A/N  
>I'm glad people are still enjoying it. I have been utterly sucked in, and I have no idea how everything is going to be resolved. :)<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

That night, Rose lay against the Doctor, wide awake, not daring to move lest she wake him up.

The Doctor was also very much awake, hardly daring to breathe in case she was asleep.

What were they going to do?

Rose didn't know what she should do, or even how to feel about it. She was disgusted at herself and at Jimmy, and even a little bit at the baby, because it was part of Jimmy. And she hated herself even more for hating the innocent baby. Because that moment of hope, when it could have been the Doctor's, she had found herself loving it.

And now she didn't. And she remembered what it was like to. And it felt awful.

What she was most terrified of was what the Doctor was going to do. Would he leave her, because he wouldn't want to take care of her and a baby that wasn't his? Would he pretend that he was fine with everything, like he so often did in the past?

She didn't want to burden him with something that wasn't his responsibility.

Part of her irrational heart clung on to the possibility that it could still be the Doctor's.

The TARDIS had been wrong before, right?

Maybe in the next few weeks she'd ask the Doctor to run those tests again.

Because the date didn't matter nearly as much as the biology and genetic makeup of the baby.

Because maybe the TARDIS was wrong. Maybe the baby was the Doctor's and the date had just been a little off.

If there was any possible chance that the baby could be the Doctor's, she was going to take it. 

With his arms around Rose, the Doctor tried to determine what would be her final decision. He didn't want to stop traveling, but if that's what she wanted to do, he was going to.

He hoped she wouldn't. He knew she was disgusted at the baby, he was too. He knew there were several different ways, on Earth and pretty much everywhere else where you could get rid of a baby.

But from the moment he'd thought it was his, his heart had swelled with love for Rose and the baby. And he still remembered how that felt.

It was really sad.

His arms tightened against Rose. He wished with all of his hearts that this had never happened. He hated seeing his Rose so torn apart.

He supposed he'd wait until the morning, and see what Rose's decision was.

But for now, all he wanted to do was hold her. He wanted to protect her against things like this.

It wasn't the promise to Jackie, that'd he'd take care of her daughter, that was driving him now.

Because it was like instinct now. Because a place, a life, anything without Rose was not a thing at all. He needed her, to feel whole.

So if she made her decision and it was to settle down in a house in London, he would stay with her.

Because he loved her more than anything in the world.

But what of the future where Rose made her decision to leave him?

He would let her. Because he wasn't going to stop her from doing anything.

And once she was gone, all traces of her taken from the TARDIS, he was going to die.

He would die, and the memories of this body would become the haunted nightmares of another man.

A man who wouldn't know love. Because he'd never have met Rose. 

**A/N  
>Ahh, speculations and priorities. I hope I got them right.<strong>

**I've finally realized where I want to go with this! So now it's just a matter of writing it.**


	6. Chapter 6

The next few weeks were horrible, for the both of them.

At first, Rose tried to keep up with the Doctor, as they ran through time, saving planets and civilizations. However, it soon became apparent that her body couldn't deal with that kind of stress.

So they stopped. He parked the TARDIS in the vortex, because they didn't want to go back to Jackie's to explain everything.

Rose spent the days in bed, watching mindless TV shows and sleeping. Short trips to the bathroom and the kitchen were all that broke the monotony.

The Doctor spent the days wandering the halls of the TARDIS, wanting to spend time with Rose, but not wanting her to get the wrong ideas.

He kept turning the issue around and around in his head.

Because Rose loved the baby, he was meant to love it as well.

Rose deserved that much. From him.

But he couldn't bring himself to love it, because when he saw her, all he could think of was Jimmy, and the way she had looked, so scared and helpless under him.

And the baby was what had come of it.

So how could he bring himself to love it?

She missed him so much.

And she felt so horrible for doing something like this. Prolonging the pain.

Because as soon as there was a definite answer to who's child it was, her course of action would be picked.

If nothing had changed, and it was Jimmy's, she was going right back to Earth, and having it taken out. Because the only reason she loved it was that it might still be the Doctor's.

And if it was the Doctor's? Well, she'd have to figure that one out.

Excitement thrilled in her heart whenever she contemplated this possibility. What would happen when he found out?

She reminded herself of this future, every time she felt like giving up. Every time she felt like just getting out.

Because there was a chance.

There was always a chance for miracles.

Right?

"Listen, Doctor?"

He looked up from his gadget. "Yeah?"

"D'you think we could do those tests again? Only this time concentrate on the baby?" Her fingers wove in and out of each other in a dance of nervous energy.

His eyes widened in concern. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no." She giggled quietly at his face. "Not at all. I just want to know how everything's going. Y'know." She gestured vaguely. "It should be far enough along we can tell some things now."

He smiled. "Sure. Do you want to know the gender?"

She shrugged. "Just everything, I suppose."

He nodded. "Right now?"

"No time like the present."

As she got off the bed, he noted, with some flash of regret, or maybe anger, the small but definite bump on her stomach.

He started to lead the way to the console room.

She grabbed his hand.

That feeling reminded him of how much he hadn't been doing that lately.

He hadn't actually realized how much he'd missed the feeling either.

He smiled back at her then, and carefully brought his arm around her shoulders.

Closeness hadn't really happened in the last few weeks.

He realized now how necessary that was to him.

With Rose at least.

Because no matter what happened, he loved her.

"Just stand still."

He remembered exactly what had happened last time.

That horrible feeling of hope that could so easily infect your heart and mind, then vanish so completely.

And still leave you remembering what it felt like.

Which was partly why he'd been avoiding everything lately.

Trying to forget that memory.

Avoiding reality to forget something.

He just now realized how stereotypical that sounded.

Hiding from your problems.

Bloody domestic.

The curious light swept over Rose as she stood as still as a statue.

She watched the Doctor, pulling up the results on the screen to read.

It felt a bit like a dream, standing here, watching him.

Her entire mind over the past few weeks had been devoted to playing out this moment.

Deciding what was going to happen for the rest of her life, in this one moment.

She fancied she could see the scales on which her life balanced at this moment.

Unblinkingly, the statue-Rose watched the Doctor read through the results on the screen.

She watched him sit down carefully on the console chair.

And she watched him cry.

**A/N  
>This is the first chapter I've written in my entire fanfiction career that I've proofread! Boy, I feel accomplished. ;)<strong>

**Anyway, slightly depressing moment in my life, as I'd completed chapters 4-8 of this story; and therefore was granted several nights of sleep.**

**Then I realized that every single chapter sucked and wasn't right at all for what I wanted to happen.**

**Oh well, no rest for the writers.**

**May I also mention (in this sinfully long author's note) that Michael Nyman's soundtrack for The Piano is the single most inspiring/beautiful thing in the all known realities. And this story would not be the same without it.**

**Finding Hope's theme song, by the way, was White Houses, by Vanessa Carlton.**

**Writing can't be done without music.**

**Anyway, this note is too long for it's own good. There'll be an update shortly. Keep reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

She'd never really seen him cry before. At least not like this. Never like this.

Her insides sort of shriveled up. Was everything she'd hoped for gone? Was the baby dead? Any number of horrifying things played out in her head, of what kinds of things would make the Doctor cry like this.

Her feet felt like lead as she walked toward him. Did she even want to see?

She made it halfway across the distance when he quickly got up and crushed her in a tight hug.

His breathing was even.

Her voice didn't seem to want to work. Neither did her lungs, apparently.

But she hugged him back, and with his face pressed into her shoulder, she became conscious of his smile.

His smile?

"Doctor?"

He scooped her off the ground, like a little kid. Looking up at her, his eyes shone like it was Christmas. Better than Christmas.

"The TARDIS was wrong." His grin almost split his face in two.

Rose felt her heart and soul lift almost out of her body. "It's- yours?"

She didn't want to breathe, afraid it would blow this fragile thing over.

"Yes." The Doctor confirmed, carrying her over to the screen, as if she weighed no more than a banana.

Rose looked carefully at the images of the baby.

It was easy to see the two tiny hearts, beating out the rhythm that she heard so often in the Doctor's chest. 1234, 1234.

Irrefutable proof that she was carrying the Doctor's child.

Relief almost crushed her. She buried her face in his shoulder and started to cry. Happy tears of relief and joy fell down her face, soaking his jacket.

He couldn't stop smiling. And crying.

This was the most perfect moment in his life.

Except for the fact that he had been distancing himself from Rose and the baby over the past few weeks.

And that couldn't exactly be fixed very easily.

"Rose?"

She lifted her head, smiling. "Yeah?"

"Are you angry with me, for not being with you the last few weeks?" He had to get it out in the open.

Her eyes widened. "No. Why would I be?"

He shrugged. "Now that you know the baby's mine. And I just left you alone."

"No, of course not." She frowned. "I didn't exactly have a very loving relationship with it either. But I was a little teeny bit worried that you were-" She cut herself off. "But you weren't. So it doesn't matter."

"What?"

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does." He insisted. "Tell me!"

"." She said it all very fast.

His eyes widened. "What?"

"But you're not." She grabbed his arms. "It doesn't matter anymore."

Yes it did. It mattered a lot. He thought she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would never leave her.

Well, she knew it, but there was always a speck of doubt- as there was in all things- that the Doctor would get tired of her humanness and drop her off back where he'd found her.

Because a human shopgirl was not someone who belonged with a gorgeous, amazing, smart, handsome, brilliant, _unique _alien.

But now, something real, something tangible, was tying them together besides the abstract thing called love.

"By the way." Rose nodded at the screen. "We can't just keep calling the baby an 'it'. Is it a boy or a girl?"

He hugged her close again. "Boy." She could hear the smile in his voice.

She couldn't help smiling right along with him. 

OoOoOoOoOo

Jimmy had gone forever. No trace of him remained anywhere near her. Save for memories from a darker time, a time when she hadn't known what she was capable of, Jimmy was gone.

All that mattered was the very moment she was in now, and the long happy future ahead.

With the man she loved.

Which was what was really worth smiling about.

OoOoOoOoOo

A/N  
>Yes! Exactly half the number of chapters as Finding Hope. 14 and 7. I love it when things just work out that way. Brilliance.<p>

Anyway, this would be the end. I hope you all liked it and my writing was up to the Finding Hope standard. I tried.

:) See you all next time! The reviews and alerts and favorites meant the world to me! Thanks a million! 


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